What happened on August 20? There are more than 264 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About August 20
August 20 is the 232nd day of the year 2025. There are 133 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 34th week of the year 2025.
On this day in Taconite, Minnesota 55786 sunrise will occur at 06:15 AM and sunset will occur at 08:17 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Leo. The modern birthstone for this month is Peridot while the mystical birthstone is Diamond.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 181 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 17, 2026).
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Historical Events For August 20
- 20Agrippa Postumus, adoptive-son of the late Roman Emperor Augustus, is executed by his guards while in exile under mysterious circumstances
- 636Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine away from the Byzantine Empire, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests and the rapid advance of Islam outside Arabia.
- 917Battle of Acheloos: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria decisively defeats a Byzantine army.
- 1000The foundation of the Hungarian state by Saint Stephen. Today celebrated as a National Day in Hungary.
- 1083Canonization of the first King of Hungary, Saint Stephen and his son Saint Emeric.
- 1308Pope Clement V pardons Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, absolving him of charges of heresy.
- 1391Konrad von Wallenrode becomes the 24th Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order.
- 1672Former Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis are brutally murdered by an angry mob in The Hague.
- 1710War of the Spanish Succession: a multinational army led by the Austrian commander Guido Starhemberg defeats the Spanish-Bourbon army commanded by the Marquis de Bay in the Battle of Saragossa.
- 1775The Spanish establish the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson in the town that became Tucson, Arizona.
- 1794Battle of Fallen Timbers – American troops force a confederacy of Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, Wyandot, Miami, Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi warriors into a disorganized retreat.
- 1858Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace’s same theory.
- 1866President Andrew Johnson formally declares the American Civil War over.
- 1882Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow.
- 1910The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the Big Blowup or the Big Burn) occurred in northeast Washington, northern Idaho (the panhandle), and western Montana, burning approximately 3 e6acre.
- 1914World War I: German forces occupy Brussels.
- 1920The National Football League, (NFL), is founded in the United States.
- 1920The first commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), begins operations in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1926Japan’s public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) is established.
- 1938Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd career grand slam – a record that still stands.
- 1940British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes the fourth of his famous wartime speeches, containing the line “Never was so much owed by so many to so few”.
- 1940In Mexico City exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramon Mercader. He dies the next day.
- 1944World War II: 168 captured allied airmen, including Phil Lamason, accused by the Gestapo of being “terror fliers”, arrive at Buchenwald concentration camp.
- 1944World War II: the Battle of Romania begins with a major Soviet offensive.
- 1950Korean War: United Nations repel an offensive by North Korean divisions attempting to cross the Naktong River and assault the city of Taegu.
- 1955In Morocco, a force of Berbers from the Atlas Mountains region of Algeria raid two rural settlements and kill 77 French nationals.
- 1960Senegal breaks from the Mali Federation, declaring its independence.
- 1975Viking Program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.
- 1977Voyager Program: NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
- 1986In Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S. Postal employee Patrick Sherrill guns down 14 of his co-workers and then commits suicide.
- 1988“Black Saturday” of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park
- 1988Iran–Iraq War: a cease-fire is agreed after almost eight years of war.
- 1988Peru becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1988The Troubles: Eight British Army soldiers are killed and 28 wounded when their bus is hit by a Provisional Irish Republican Army roadside bomb in Northern Ireland (see Ballygawley bus bombing).
- 1989The O-Bahn in Adelaide, the world’s longest guided busway, opens.
- 1989The pleasure boat Marchioness sinks on the River Thames following a collision, 51 people are killed.
- 1991Dissolution of the Soviet Union, August Coup: more than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union’s parliament building protesting the coup aiming to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.
- 1991Estonia, annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, issues a decision on the re-establishment of independence on the basis of historical continuity of her pre-World War II statehood.
- 1993After rounds of secret negotiations in Norway, the Oslo Peace Accords are signed, followed by a public ceremony in Washington, D.C. the following month.
- 1997Souhane massacre in Algeria; over 60 people are killed and 15 kidnapped.
- 1998The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government’s approval.
- 1998U.S. embassy bombings: the United States launches cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
- 2002A group of Iraqis opposed to the regime of Saddam Hussein take over the Iraqi Embassy in Berlin for five hours before releasing their hostages and surrendering.
- 2008Spanair Flight 5022, from Madrid to Gran Canaria, skids off the runway and crashes at Barajas Airport. 146 people are killed in the crash, and 8 more die later. Only 18 people survive.
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Who Were Born On August 20?
- 1517Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, French church leader (d. 1586)
- 1561Jacopo Peri, Italian composer (d. 1633)
- 1625Thomas Corneille, French dramatist (d. 1709)
- 1632Louis Bourdaloue, French Jesuit preacher (d. 1704)
- 1710Thomas Simpson, British mathematician (d. 1761)
- 1719Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1791)
- 1719Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (d. 1783)
- 1778Bernardo O'Higgins, South American revolutionary (d. 1842)
- 1779Jöns Jakob Berzelius, Swedish chemist (d. 1848)
- 1833Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States (d. 1901)
- 1845St. Albert Chmielowski, Polish Catholic Saint (d. 1916)
- 1847Andrew Greenwood, England cricketer (d. 1889)
- 1847Bolesław Prus, Polish writer (d. 1912)
- 1856Jakub Bart-Ćišinski, Sorbian writer (d. 1909)
- 1860Raymond Poincaré, French statesman (d. 1934)
- 1865Bernard Tancred, South African cricketer (d. 1911)
- 1868Ellen Roosevelt, American tennis player (d. 1954)
- 1873Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen, Finnish architect (d. 1950)
- 1881Edgar Guest, English poet (d. 1959)
- 1885Dino Campana, Italian poet (d. 1932)
- 1886Paul Tillich, German-American theologian (d. 1965)
- 1887Phan Khoi, Vietnamese intellectual (d. 1959)
- 1890H. P. Lovecraft, American writer (d. 1937)
- 1897Tarjei Vesaas, Norwegian writer (d. 1970)
- 1898Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish author and historian (d. 1973)
- 1901Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- 1905Jack Teagarden, American musician (d. 1964)
- 1905Jean Gebser, German-born author, linguist, and poet (d. 1973)
- 1906Charles Arnt, American actor d. 1990
- 1907Alan Reed, original voice of Fred Flintstone. (d. 1977)
- 1908Al Lopez, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
- 1909Alby Roberts, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1978)
- 1910Eero Saarinen, Finnish architect (d. 1961)
- 1913Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1994)
- 1916Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian–German chess player (d. 1984)
- 1918Jacqueline Susann, American novelist (d. 1974)
- 1919Walter Bernstein, American screenwriter
- 1921Jack Wilson, Australian cricketer (d. 1985)
- 1923Jim Reeves, US country music singer (d. 1964)
- 1924George Zuverink, American baseball player
- 1926Nobby Wirkowski, American and Canadian football player and coach
- 1927Geriatric1927, English video blogger
- 1927Yootha Joyce, English actress (d. 1980)
- 1929Kevin Heffernan, Gaelic footballer
- 1930Mario Bernardi, Canadian conductor
- 1930Peter Randall, British George Medal recipient (d. 2007)
- 1931Don King, American boxing promoter
- 1932Anthony Ainley, British actor (d. 2004)
- 1932Atholl McKinnon, South African cricketer (d. 1983)
- 1932Vasily Aksyonov, Russian novelist (d. 2009)
- 1933George J. Mitchell, former United States Senator
- 1934Armi Kuusela, Finnish beauty queen
- 1934Tom Mangold, British journalist and author
- 1935Ron Paul, US Congressman, 1988, 2008, and 2012 presidential candidate
- 1936Hideki Shirakawa, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937Andrei Konchalovsky, Russian film director
- 1937El Fary, Spanish singer and actor (d. 2007)
- 1937Jim Bowen, English comedian
- 1937Stelvio Cipriani, Italian composer
- 1938Alain Vivien, French politician
- 1939Fernando Poe Jr., Filipino actor and politician (d. 2004)
- 1940Rex Sellers, Australian cricketer
- 1940Rubén Hinojosa, American politician
- 1941Dave Brock, British musician and founder of Hawkwind
- 1941Jo Ramirez, Mexican motor racing team manager and author
- 1941Rich Brooks, American football coach
- 1941Robin Oakley, British journalist
- 1941Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia and of Yugoslavia (d. 2006)
- 1942Fred Norman, American baseball player
- 1942Isaac Hayes, American singer, songwriter, and actor (d. 2008)
- 1943Sylvester McCoy, Scottish actor
- 1944Graig Nettles, American baseball player
- 1944Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (d. 1991)
- 1946Connie Chung, American journalist
- 1946N.R. Narayana Murthy, Indian businessman
- 1946Ralf Hütter, German musician (Kraftwerk)
- 1947Alan Lee, English conceptual artist
- 1948John Noble, Australian actor
- 1948Robert Plant, British Musician (Led Zeppelin)
- 1949Alan Hardwick, English TV presenter
- 1949Katiana Balanika, Greek actress and singer
- 1949Nikolas Asimos, Greek composer and singer (d. 1988)
- 1949Norman Featherstone, South African cricketer
- 1949Patrick Kilpatrick, American actor
- 1949Phil Lynott, Irish musician (d. 1986)
- 1951Greg Bear, American author
- 1952Doug Fieger, American musician (The Knack) (d. 2010)
- 1952John Emburey, English cricketer
- 1952John Hiatt, American musician
- 1953Gerry Bertier, American wheelchair Olympian (d. 1981)
- 1954Al Roker, American television personality
- 1954Don Stark, American actor
- 1954Quinn Buckner, American basketball player and coach
- 1954Tawn Mastrey, American disc jockey (d. 2007)
- 1955Agnes Chan, Hong Kong singer and writer
- 1956Alvin Greenidge, West Indian cricketer
- 1956Joan Allen, American actress
- 1957Finlay Calder, Scottish rugby player
- 1958John Stehr, American journalist
- 1958Patricia Rozema, Canadian film director and screenwriter
- 1961Greg Egan, Australian author
- 1961Joe Pasquale, English comedian
- 1962Dong-Wook Song, South Korean tennis player
- 1962James Marsters, American actor
- 1962Sophie Aldred, English actress
- 1963Uwe Bialon, German footballer
- 1965KRS-One, American rapper
- 1966David Rees Snell, American actor (The Shield)
- 1966Dimebag Darrell, American guitarist (Pantera and Damageplan) (d. 2004)
- 1967Andy Benes, American baseball player
- 1967Colin Cunningham, American actor
- 1967Terri Poch, American yogini and professional wrestler
- 1968Klas Ingesson, Swedish footballer
- 1968Yuri Shiratori, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1969Billy Gardell, American actor and comedian
- 1970Els Callens, Belgian tennis player
- 1970Fred Durst, American singer (Limp Bizkit)
- 1970John D. Carmack, American computer game programmer
- 1971David Walliams, British comedian
- 1971Jonathan Ke Quan, Vietnamese/American actor
- 1971Steve Stone, English footballer
- 1972Chaney Kley, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1973Todd Helton, American baseball player
- 1974Amy Adams, American actress
- 1974Andy Strachan, Australian musician (The Living End)
- 1974Big Moe, American rapper (d. 2007)
- 1974Maxim Vengerov, Russian violinist
- 1974Misha Collins, American actor and producer
- 1974Szabolcs Sáfár, Hungarian footballer
- 1975Marcus Mastin, American author
- 1976Chris Drury, American hockey player
- 1977Felipe Contepomi, Argentine rugby player
- 1977Ivar Ingimarsson, Icelandic footballer
- 1977James Ormond, England cricketer
- 1977Manuel Contepomi, Argentine rugby player
- 1977Mayra Veronica, Cuban model and actress
- 1977Wayne Brown, English footballer
- 1979Cory Sullivan, American baseball player
- 1979Haha, South Korean entertainer
- 1979Jamie Cullum, British musician
- 1980Corey Carrier, American actor
- 1980Langhorne Slim, American country singer
- 1980Rochelle Gadd, British actress
- 1980Samuel Dumoulin, French cyclist
- 1981Ben Barnes, English actor
- 1981Bernard Mendy, French footballer
- 1982Barney Rogers, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1982Cléber Luis Alberti, Brazilian footballer
- 1982Joshua Kennedy, Australian footballer
- 1982Youssouf Hersi, Ethiopian footballer
- 1983Andrew Garfield, American actor
- 1983Brian Schaefering, American football player
- 1983Yuri Zhirkov, Russian footballer
- 1984Mirai Moriyama, Japanese actor
- 1984Tsokye Karchung, Bhutanese beauty queen, Miss Bhutan 2008
- 1986Robert Clark, Canadian actor
- 1987Cătălina Ponor, Romanian gymnast
- 1987Kristína Peláková, Slovak singer
- 1988Jerryd Bayless, American basketball player
- 1990Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Dutch swimmer
- 1991Marko Đoković, Serbian tennis player
- 1992Demi Lovato, American actress and singer
- 1992Matej Delač, Croatian footballer
- 1995Liana Liberato, American actress
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Who Died On August 20?
- 20Agrippa Postumus, youngest son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder, grandson and adoptive-son of Roman Emperor Augustus (b. 12 BC)
- 535Mochta of Louth, disciple of St. Patrick
- 917Constantine Lips, Byzantine Admiral
- 984Pope John XIV
- 1384Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life (b. 1340)
- 1572Miguel López de Legazpi, Spanish conquistador (b. 1502)
- 1580Jeronymo Osorio, Portuguese historian (b. 1506)
- 1611Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spanish composer (b. 1548)
- 1639Martin Opitz von Boberfeld, German poet (b. 1597)
- 1643Anne Hutchinson, English Puritan preacher (b. 1591)
- 1648Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English diplomat, poet, and philosopher (b. 1583)
- 1672Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (b. 1623)
- 1672Johan de Witt, Dutch politician (b. 1625)
- 1680William Bedloe, English informer (b. 1650)
- 1701Charles Sedley, English playwright (b. 1639)
- 1707Nicolas Gigault, French organist and composer (b. 1627)
- 1773Enrique Florez, Spanish historian (b. 1701)
- 1823Pope Pius VII (b. 1740)
- 1825William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1753)
- 1854Shiranui Dakuemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 8th Yokozuna (b. 1801)
- 1887Jules Laforgue, French poet (b. 1860)
- 1912William Booth, English founder of the Salvation Army (b. 1829)
- 1914Pope Pius X (b. 1835)
- 1915Paul Ehrlich, German scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1854)
- 1917Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1835)
- 1919Greg MacGregor, England cricketer (b. 1869)
- 1930Charles Bannerman, Australian cricketer (b. 1851)
- 1961Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1882)
- 1963Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer (b. 1879)
- 1965Jonathan Myrick Daniels, American activist (b. 1939)
- 1971Rashid Minhas, Pakistani Air Force pilot (b. 1951)
- 1979Christian Dotremont, Belgian painter and writer (b. 1922)
- 1980Joe Dassin, American singer (b. 1938)
- 1982Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (b. 1929)
- 1986Milton Acorn, Canadian poet (b. 1923)
- 1989George Adamson, India-born English game warden and lion expert (b. 1906)
- 1993Bernard Delfgaauw, Dutch philosopher (b. 1912)
- 1996Rio Reiser, German rock musician and singer (b. 1950)
- 1997Léon Dion, French-Canadian political scientist (b. 1922)
- 1997Norris Bradbury, American physicist (b. 1909)
- 2001Kim Stanley, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2001Sir Fred Hoyle, English astronomer and science fiction writer (b. 1915)
- 2005Krzysztof Raczkowski, Polish drummer (b. 1970)
- 2005Thomas Herrion, American football player (b. 1981)
- 2006Claude Blanchard, French-Canadian singer, comedian and actor (b. 1932)
- 2006Cpl Bryan Budd VC, British soldier (b. 1977)
- 2006Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (b. 1911)
- 2007Larry Hartsell, American martial artist, bodyguard, trainer, student of Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto (b. 1942)
- 2007Leona Helmsley, American hotel operator and real estate investor (b. 1920)
- 2008Ed “Too Tall” Freeman, former U.S. Army helicopter pilot and Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1927)
- 2008Gene Upshaw, American football player and union leader (b. 1945)
- 2008Hua Guofeng, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (b. 1921)
- 2008Stephanie Tubbs Jones, American politician (b. 1949)
- 2009Larry Knechtel, American keyboard player and bassist (b. 1940)
- 2010Dang Phong, Vietnamese historian (b. 1937)
- 2010Michael Been, American musician (The Call) (b. 1950)
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